Massage & Stretching Workshop Review

by Mark Fan

This seminar showed me two interesting things.

First, from the massage perspective, perhaps the most important thing I noticed was the effect it had on everyone. I think everyone was more "quiet" on the inside. Being massaged and massaging someone else relaxes and calms you to a degree where you can really be patient and sensitive to another person, as well as yourself. This is definitely important when it comes to doing detailed and precise work, because it provides a good mindset to start from. Also, it shows you what it feels like to be relaxed! :)

Naturally, stretching after developing this kind of inner relaxation was different. Often, I want to rush when it comes to stretching. I just want to do the stretch and get it over with, but after getting a massage, I was much more patient with my own limitations and was willing to relax into the stretch longer, and feel it more.

Then we got to the dynamic stretching, and I found it was a good extension of the breath and movement seminars. For example, tension starts to appear at the limits of your stretch (because it can start to hurt!), but Manny showed us how we could consciously relax the various parts of our body that we unconsciously allowed tension to come to. The result was that I could stretch at least an extra inch, just by freeing things that were unnecessarily involving themselves in the process.

Because stretching can cause pain at its limits, it also has application to fighting. The last class I attended Manny showed finger work, and when someone sharply locks your fingers, the effect can be the same as a stretch, but faster because its dictated by someone else. A surge of tension would suddenly appear everywhere. This is a problem, because that tension allows the fingers to break.

The great thing is though, if we go back to the previous workshops, you can regain your freedom with the breathing. That simple movement inside your chest also starts to relax the rest of you, and if you don't let the movement stop (like from the second workshop), you have a chance to save your fingers. Good stuff!

Why Bodyweight Exercises work so well

* When you do squats Hindu pushups, body raises, leg raises or variations of them,
you are working major muscle groups. Most people who train with weights
do isolation exercises. The person who works major muscle groups beats the
isolation exercises.

* Because bodyweight exercises are 'natural' movements that require deeper
self-concentration, neurological connections are stronger than they are when
your focus is on something other than yourself, i.e. 'weights.'

* Bodyweight exercises allow you to train your body from virtually any angle
or position. The same cannot be said of weights, especially all those machines.

* Bodyweight exercises simultaneously increase strength, endurance and
flexibility.

* Bodyweight exercises attack the muscle at a deeper level than weights, thereby
giving you greater 'functional strength.' The person who does a set of pullups, for
example, works the muscles of the back and arms far more than the person doing
a lat pulldown on a machine.

There are more reasons 'why' - but I'll let you discover them yourself. This way it will
mean a lot more to you in the end.

Emmanuel

The Two thing I ask....

1. Live your life.

2. Dream.

As you live your life make sure you don't structure it in such a way that it kills your dreams.

I know there are some dream that cannot be dreamed, just there like there are some storms we cannot weather.
However if you quiet yourself, the noise in your head and live a good life you'll catch the dream and find shelter from the storm till it passes.

Someone sacrificed for you, never forget that...Earn your life.
emmanuel

Reviews from the Movement WorkShop

Two reviews that were posted about the Movement Workshop I held at FightClub.
Both Students captured exactly what I wanted to share.....

------------

Posted by Janik

The movement workshop showed me all the potential that we have that remains unexploited because of the fact that we don't move enough. That exercise you made us do of rolling all our joints (pardon the pun) really makes you realize what more there is to a particular movement or another.

Truly an eye-opener.


------------

Posted by Mark

There's two topics I liked, particularly because of their relationship to fighting.

First was the theme of never stopping combined with the concept of the "spring". When we reached the end of a particular movement and then allowed our body to spring back into motion, I found it was economical on many levels. Of course, there was a reduction of physical effort, but also mentally, the exercise became more about sensitivity rather than effort. You felt the boundaries of the movement and the capabilities of your body, and that dictated the outcome. You didn't have to "try" to do the exercise, it was allowed to happen.

Second was the work we did walking with flat feet. It was mentioned that this is precisely how we walk after we've slipped on ice and need to continue walking. We walk carefully, with our weight over our flat feet. There's a lot of humility in walking on ice. You can't go harder or faster, its usually too solid to break with a kick. Ice can neutralize you completely, and you are reduced to slowly shuffling across it.

Yet in both cases, the drills were great for fighting and actually seem to work together to form a balance. For example, the "spring" is a natural extension of continuous movement, but I like it because it adds a natural rhythm to your movement, a rhythm unique to you. This kind of sensitivity to the boundaries and redirection of your movement seems excellent for mass attack. At the same time, the spring can be a little wild if you take it too far. If we go back to the walking on ice analogy, the flat feet encourage proper structure and reduces the chances of overextending yourself (the basic concept behind slipping on ice).

Its not immediately apparent how to tie together these movements with the first seminar on breathing. At first glance they seem to be disparate... A lot of twisting movements for example are quite difficult to perform at the peak of the inhale and feel better to me on the exhale. There's clearly a relationship to the restriction of your chest. The natural restoration of posture however, leads to a natural restoration of your inhale. "Letting every breath" as it may be, is really one of the more effective ways to work with our body.

Mediterranean-type diets are healthiest!

Mediterranean-type diets are healthiest, says a major study of cardiac risks

A little red wine is in. Red meat is unquestionably out. And the Mediterranean diet is simply golden.

That is the conclusion of a study out of McMaster University that seeks to offer the most definitive word yet on the foods that are good for your heart.

The study, which examined almost 60 years' worth of existing research on diet and heart disease, attempts to separate the whole wheat from the chaff on foods in a way that doctors and consumers can swallow with confidence, says Dr. Sonia Anand, the study's senior author. It ran yesterday in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.


http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2252086668&topic=8814

A letter written a long time ago to Mrs. Bixby from Boston

Dear Madam,

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the
Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who
have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine that would
attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming.
But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be
found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement,
and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved, lost, and the
solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice
upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
Abraham Lincoln

Body Movement Workshop

Life is movement. Are you free to move?

Come learn how your body’s muscular and skeletal systems are
integrated through movements. One of my favorite topics!

See everyone there tomorrow - April 11th
emmanuel

Very Well Said!

Thanks Mark...


"I think I came to learn more after reflecting on the seminar during the following days. I was impressed by the amount of inner freedom we have (the exercises for finding the flexibility of our ribs and chest were very useful for this). I also enjoyed the drills that showed that we could direct the breath pressure inside of ourselves, with implications for taking strikes and improving body awareness.

I think the best thing I learned from the seminar was seeing the space inside the chest cavity for breathing, and the flexibility of our ribs and diaphragm to accommodate it. It showed me, in a very experiential and direct way (as opposed to just conceptually imagining it), that our movements can start from within; from the breath. Just the inch of expansion and contraction of the chest gives us room to escape, generate a wave, or support us from the inside against a strike. The space makes the freedom to move possible. So the power to move and to respond literally comes from our breathing; it restarts us after tension and fear has locked us.

Also, to breathe properly, it seems we need a certain awareness. Just as movement can come from breathing (as you said Manny, "Breathing IS a movement"), breathing can come from a balanced psyche. As such, when we are breathing poorly, it serves as a reliable indicator of how we are feeling and thinking on the inside.

There seem to be so many levels to it. I don't think breathing is complicated, but at the same time, I don't think I understand its true power or potential. I'm looking forward to seeing more classes and/or seminars on it in the future!

Thanks again for the seminar!"

Mark Fan

Bottled Water Bad?

Remember when you were a kid and whenever
you needed a drink of water you turned on the
faucet.

Well, it may be time to revisit those days - or
something similar.

Why? Because most of the bottled water being
sold to us at steep prices is unsafe.

For years we've been told that water from the tap
is bad - and water that you pay for from the bottle
is good.

Well, surprise surprise.

A recent study at the University of Iowa, looked into
the contents of ten top brands of drinking water.

And guess what they found?

Here's a direct quote:

"Researchers found 38 impurities in the 10 brands of
bottled water they analysed. This included disinfection
byproducts, fertilizer residue, traces of pain medication,
solvents, chemicals used in the plastics industry, bacteria,
and radioactive strontium. Across the 10 brands, the
researchers found an average of 8 pollutants in each."

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125610.php

emmanuel

Nice article about Exercise

Some sound advice and facts

http://health.nytimes.com/ref/health/healthguide/esn-exercise-ess.html

emmanuel

The meek (soft and gentle) shall inherit the earth

Your body is limited in what it can accomplish
through brute physical power alone. And the longer you
push the edge of the envelope with "hard" training, the
greater the risk of doing more harm than good.

The solution is to develop a base of strength through
external exercises - and once this is in place - graduate
to the internal phase of development.

Interestingly enough, those who practice the INTERNAL
end up being far healthier, more vitally alive and much
more developed all the way around. Onlookers cannot
tell how you developed your strength and power - because
your exercises appear so meek and mild. But as the Biblical
saying goes, "The meek (soft and gentle) shall inherit the
earth."

Yes, just as water will erode stone - softness and gentleness
can defeat those with arms and legs of steel. When you are
soft, the movements you do come from within - and this gives
you incredible insight and leverage as to how to easily defeat
those who are externally oriented.

emmanuel